Make a Patriotic Wreath With Your Old Jeans!

Don't know about you but I'm already getting ready to celebrate July 4th! This year I'm going all the way and will be decorating big time.

A patriotic wreath made with my old jeans!

STEP 1: Gather Your Supplies Let's start by taking out of the closet those old jeans because we're going to make a patriotic wreath with them! A soft, weathered fabric is ideal, to make it easier on the fingers. We'll have to tie a bunch. In addition you'll need: - Green wire wreath metal frame (mine is 12") - 6-7 sheets of White felt, US letter size (8 1/2" x 11") - 3-4 sheets of red felt (8 1/2" x 11") - I like ECO-FI by Kunin. It's made out recycled plastic bottles! - Cloth scissors -White or painters tape (optional)

Start by cutting the felt in 1/2" stripes

STEP 2: Cut Your Felt Sheet into Strips Grab your scissors and the red felt and start by cutting stripes along the 8 1/2" edge. You can do anything between 1/2" and 1" wide. Mine are 1/2"-5/8" - I found it's harder to make a knot when they're too wide. Now go ahead and cut one of you felt sheets.

You'll need a frame, felt, scissors & jeans

If you're going to use the scissors often, invest in a good brand - it's worth it! I have a pair of Fiskars and love them. You can find these in you local craft store, Michael's, or even Amazon. TIP: Remember not to use your new scissors for anything else than cutting cloth, or else the blade will get dull very quickly. Now, are you ready? Let's get started

Place the red stripes next to the frame

Once you've done, stack 2 or 3 neatly so we can cut them in half. No need to be super exact but cutting the two pieces about same length will help later.

To be accurate, mark red, white & blue areas

STEP 3: Mark off Your Areas with Tape Feel free to skip this step, but I'm sure if you've read my other posts you've noticed I'm into planning! ;-) I decided to be as accurate as possible - after all this is the American flag that I'm referencing - so my wreath will have 13 stripes (7 red and 6 white) plus 50 white "stars" on the blue background. So here's where the planning comes in handy: I'm going to leave about 1/4 of the wreath frame for the blue area and divide the rest in 13 segments.

Feel free to skip this step!

If you want to follow me, get the tape and use it to mark each segment - you'll have to remove markers as you go. In my 12" wreath, each red or white block is about 1/3rd of the area between the separators. -- Or, as I said, feel free to skip this step! TIP: You can also adjust the width as you go. Marks are just a reference.

STEP 4: Add Your Red Felt Strips Start next to one of the radius by knotting the first row of stripes. I found it's easier to keep track if I do one at a time, from the smaller (inside ring) to the larger. Once I reach the larger outside ring, I'm back to the smaller and so on. TIP: Try to keep a similar length in both the sides of the knot. Move on from the smaller to the large SIX times to build your first red stripe. TIP: every six, add 1 more extra on the outside rings (3rd and 4th) to compensate for the larger area to cover. To sum up: You'll end up with 6 rows on the 1st (i.e. inner ring) and 2nd, and 7 on the 3rd and 4th (i.e. outer rings.) You can also turn the frame over to count where you are. It's easier if you nudge the knots a bit! Don't forget to remove the tape mark as you get closer.

With the red done, let's do the white next!

STEP 5: Cut and Add Your White Felt Strips With my first red block done, I'm ready to tackle the white. Again, cut the felt in stripes on the 8 1/2" direction. Stack 3 or 4 and cut them in half and line them up next to your frame. Ready?

Counting six rows helps to keep them even!

Again, start from the inside out - one stripe at a time -and repeat 6 times. As with the red, add 1 extra stripe on the 3rd and 4th rings

Alternate colors & don't forget to count!

STEP 6: Fill in the 3/4 of the Wreath with the Red and White Strips Keep moving! TIP: Don't forget to place the stripes of your current color next to the frame and count. Take breaks as needed. Or even better, work for a couple of hours a day: It can get a bit tiring on the fingers. Half way on my reds & whites, I'm calling it a day and coming back tomorrow!

The reds & whites done. Ready for the blues?

Feeling refreshed I was able to finish in a breeze remaining white and reds in a breeze. Looking good! Now. Got your ole jeans ready? I'm ready to tackle the blue.

Next is cutting the blue and white stripes!

STEP 7: Cut Strips of (More) White and Jean The white will be stars - I want to be accurate and will be cutting 50. The stripes will be narrower than the previous red & white, say just 1/4", but the process will be the same. As for the jeans, I want them to be a bit wider: 1/2" - 5/8" It's OK to be imperfect. Plus, the jeans will fray a little. Cut your blue now and lay both colors next to the wreath.

Pick a side & start by adding 2 blue stripes

STEP 8: Add the White and Jean Strips Pick one side and start with the blues. I'm a "righty" so I moved left to right. But. Wait! Before you get started let's do a little math: To fit 50 narrow white stripes (or stars) in 4 rings, I'll need 12 on each, plus 2 extra. Around the middle, I'll add 1 extra to the 3rd and 4th rings, as I did earlier with the previous red & white blocks. I started with the blue and tied 2 rows on each ring. Then a white, followed by the blue, and so on-one of each. In other words, other than the intial two rows of blue on each side, I'm alternating blues & whites. Of course, you don't need to be so accurate - so skip the counting if you prefer and just alternate blues and whites until the area is filled.

Once it's done, you can trim the tips a bit.

STEP 9: Trim Your Strips So it's done! One last thing: you can trim a little the white "stars" or any other stripe that sticks too much. It's up to you!

And here it is!

And here it is. I really like how it looks. It was a work of love, but hey - it is the American flag! Now, I think I'm (almost) ready for July 4th. :)